Tuesday, August 8, 2023
Headlines Daily Digest
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A Checklist for Evaluating Your State's Digital Equity Vision
FCC Releases Illustrative Results for Enhanced Alternative Connect America Cost Model
Gov. Justice announces preliminary approvals for West Virginia Broadband Investment
Digital Equity
Broadband Funding
State Initiatives
Ownership/Antitrust
Platforms/Social Media/AI
Wireless/Spectrum
Security
Labor
Policymakers
Digital Equity
Your state is doing something it has never done before: not just making a plan to achieve digital equity, but thinking about how life in the state will be transformed by closing the digital divide. The National Telecommunications and Information Administration asks states to address two critical questions in their visions of digital equity: 1) What will digital equity look like in the context of your state? and 2) What are the broad goals that should be accomplished in executing this plan (e.g., improve rural health outcomes, increase underrepresented youth employment in technology-related fields)? So does your state have a clear vision? State broadband offices have started releasing draft digital equity plans and visions for public comment. As states and their communities evaluate draft visions of digital equity, please consider these additional questions.
Broadband Funding
FCC Releases Illustrative Results for Enhanced Alternative Connect America Cost Model
The Federal Communications Commission's Wireline Competition Bureau (Bureau) released illustrative results for the Enhanced Alternative Connect America Cost Model (Enhanced A-CAM) (v2.6.0) program recently adopted by the FCC. These results utilize three different combinations of per-location funding caps for unserved locations and funding percentages for locations already deployed by the incumbent local exchange carrier (ILEC). These results are based on Version 2 of the Broadband Serviceable Location Fabric and incorporate currently served locations from Version 2 of the Broadband Data Collection. In addition, each of the three combinations is calculated in two ways: one set of estimates excludes locations subject to federal funding commitments currently included in the National Broadband Funding Map (even if those locations will not ultimately be excluded from Enhanced A-CAM offers because they are not receiving a federal subsidy that would require deconfliction) and one set does not. The purpose of these illustrative results is to make interested parties aware of the potential impact on support for various Enhanced A-CAM support parameters and to permit carriers to understand the relationship between current location and coverage data and the support calculations. Information regarding the data sources and funding calculations used to produce these illustrative results can be found at https://docs.fcc.gov/public/attachments/DOC-395739A1.pdf.
State Initiatives
Gov. Justice announces preliminary approvals for West Virginia Broadband Investment Plan, LEAD, and MBPS programs
Gov. Jim Justice (R-WV) announced the preliminary approval of more than $32 million under two programs of the West Virginia Broadband Investment Plan. This announcement includes applications received under the programs Line Extension Advancement and Development (LEAD) and Major Broadband Project Strategies (MBPS). LEAD and MBPS projects announced through this application cycle will provide broadband connectivity to more than 6,000 targeted locations with the deployment of approximately 793 miles of new infrastructure. In addition to grant funds awarded, over $16 million in matching funds will bring the total investment to over $48 million. Funding for the West Virginia Broadband Investment Plan, MBPS and LEAD programs, are provided through the West Virginia Legislature’s allocation of $100 million to create the West Virginia Broadband Development Fund. The Fund includes $90 million in funding through the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) and $10 million in state general revenue funds. Funds are also derived through the ARPA Capital Projects Fund, which includes $136 million for broadband development in West Virginia. [more at the link below]
Benton (www.benton.org) provides the only free, reliable, and non-partisan daily digest that curates and distributes news related to universal broadband, while connecting communications, democracy, and public interest issues. Posted Monday through Friday, this service provides updates on important industry developments, policy issues, and other related news events. While the summaries are factually accurate, their sometimes informal tone may not always represent the tone of the original articles. Headlines are compiled by Kevin Taglang (headlines AT benton DOT org), Grace Tepper (grace AT benton DOT org), and David L. Clay II (dclay AT benton DOT org) — we welcome your comments.
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Benton Institute
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